Anybody denying that there was genocide and starvation against the Igbo during the civil war is living in denial – Col. Achuzia, ex-Biafran commander and Ojukwu’s associate

Col. Joseph Achuzia was not only a participant in the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970) but one of the top Biafran war commanders and a very intimate associate of the late Biafran warlord, Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu. In this interview with Assistant Editor, LINUS OBOGO, the British-trained Aeronautic engineer and one-time Secretary-General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, took issue with those who accused Prof. Chinua Achebe of distorting history in his book, There was a Country, where the celebrated story teller alleged genocide and the deployment of starvation as a weapon of war against the then Federal Government. Excerpts:

The ongoing Constitution review by the National Assembly has afforded the South East the opportunity to seek redress of perceived marginalisation including the demand for an additional state for the purpose of balancing and equity, but some Northern interests have vowed to frustrate the region from realising its wish. What do you make of this strong position coming from the North against the agitation?

Most people do not seem to understand the meaning of marginalisation. For a people to continue to sing or cry about marginalisation, there must be a reason. And for a certain people to continue to carry on or do the same thing that creates a sense of inferiority towards others that makes them feel marginalis….ed, means there exists marginalisation.

In this instance, year in, year out, the arrogance of the North makes us as a people feel that we do not belong to the rest of the country. And what they do not seem to appreciate is the fact that the states created for them was not through any constitutional means but through the barrel of the gun. The North, after the pogrom visited on the Igbo during the civil war, continued to carry their arrogance even into an era of peace. The military carved out states for the North which gives them advantage over other regions like the South East.

This is part of what Prof. Chinua Achebe wrote in his book, There was a Country, which is making some people angry. I cannot stop talking about the arrogance of the North because they are still perpetrating that same arrogance that makes them see the Igbo as a conquered people, over three decades after the pogrom against them.

Recall the various crises that have taken place in the North where the Igbo were made targets. Their shops and property were targeted and destroyed in the North simply because they had to earn a living. Most of the attacks were unleashed on the Igbo for the simple reason that they are Igbo. That is why I am compelled sometimes to ask my people why they continue to reside in a place they are not wanted.

Today, we are told the constitution is being reviewed. But may I ask, what constitution? Is it the same document crafted by the military to protect the Northern interest? As far I am concerned, the constitution the military handed over to the civilians at the end of their incursion into governance should have been suspended by the civilian regime and an entirely new but people’s constitution be fashioned by the people. My people have a saying that if you are in the midst of soldier ants and if one climbs up your feet, you do not remain there for more to climb your body. You just have to step out from there.

So, I don’t feel comfortable to start talking about the state of the nation in the midst of terror. Nigeria is facing a security situation which I think there are thousands of ways it should be addressed. That is why somebody was complaining about former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s statement that President Goodluck Jonathan was not handling the security situation confronting the country as he should. Of course, Obasanjo was a military man and I understand his position. Militarism came to be by virtue of a mission to ward off all forms of attacks that would put the citizens in jeopardy, internally or externally. And in this instance, it is a combination of the two but we are trying to treat it with kid gloves. I don’t subscribe to this approach. This is the most I can say for now.

In other words, you do not think that Jonathan has done enough to tackle the issues of insecurity in the country?

For me, he has not done enough. He has not done enough because he is the Commander-in-Chief of the country’s armed forces. He should be seen to be exercising the power given to him as Commander-in-Chief, which he is not exercising. It would be a terrible thing if he makes the same mistake which the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe made in the First Republic, when he watched helplessly while the South West was going into operation Wild Wild West. Elections carried out were inconclusive and people were saying that Zik could not do anything because he was only a ceremonial president. There is nothing like somebody being a ceremonial president when you are closest to all the paraphernalia of office which is being the commander in chief of the armed forces. The armed forces have the instrument of authority of anybody in power. You use it to make sure that your people don’t suffer terror internally or externally. That is why I said that he has not done enough. He has not made good use of the power at his disposal.

Do you subscribe to the Obasanjo’s Zaki Biam and Odi strategy in dealing with the Boko Haram menace?

As a security expert, when you have a group of outsiders coming into the country to terrorise your people, my job, first and foremost, is to use everything at my disposal to repel and stop them. If it is internally orchestrated, I will use all the security apparatus to unsettle all the groups so that it does not escalate and affect other regions of the country. You don’t have to resort to dialogue. Dialogue should not be an option. Who would you dialogue with? Dialogue with faceless people? No my friend! A complete different orientation is needed in tackling the state of insecurity in the country.

There is a raging controversy arising from Prof. Chinua Achebe’s new book, There was a Country, where he accused the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), of genocide and using starvation as a weapon of war during the Nigerian civil war. As an active participant in the war, how agreeable are you with Achebe’s allegation?

There are always two sides to a story. On one side, Achebe has presented the facts as he saw them during the war. On the other hand, Awolowo, during his life time, tried to present the other side of the story the way he saw it. So, whichever side you are and if you choose to believe either side of the story or not, it is immaterial because you can’t change our stance over our perception of what we think of the wrongs done to us. The same way, Gen. Gowon saw from his own point of view that the action he took was the right thing to do. He had a war, fought it and took his responsibility. On our own side, we had a war on our hand and tried to defend ourselves. No amount of argument or criticism can alter what happened at that time. So, I believe that the media has a job to document facts for posterity. I believe that if you look into the archives, all the things written about the civil war are either written to create more disaffection or that the media lacks the necessary documentation which it should have done during the period of that civil war.

I did not fight on the side of those who used starvation as the weapon of war. Consequently, I could not judge their frame of mind. I can only tell you how I felt being a recipient of the pressure of starvation. Also, I cannot tell you how the person who thought it up and decided to use it on us felt that it would expedite the objective at that time.

In other words, Achebe is right that starvation was deployed as a weapon against the Igbo during the war?

Look, I repeat again, Awolowo did not deny taking such a decision neither did Gowon. They were the ones who executed the war and they deployed starvation for whatever reason that guided their action. I was the recipient of starvation and its pressure as all borders, ground, air and sea, were closed against us so that we could not retreat. We were as encircled as to be exterminated. That was how I felt at the time. But whether the intention was to exterminate us, I cannot tell. Those of us who survived the war saw it like that because there were many others who did not survive. So, whoever is denying that starvation was used or the war itself was not genocide against the Igbo is living in denial. But now, we should be thinking of showing love and understanding towards one another.

Achebe did not go out of his way to stoke controversy. He is a journalist and a writer. The basis of people gifted to write is to chronicle events for posterity. And that was what he did.

Ahead of 2015, would the Igbo be ready to stake a claim to the Presidency?

When Jonathan was canvassing for the presidency and the North stood in opposition, my people and I stood behind him. I made a statement at the time that after Jonathan, it would be the turn of the Igbo. And because Jonathan at that time said that he could manage only one term, I also said that in 2015, if Jonathan did not go for a second term, it would be our turn and it would not be negotiable. I still stand by that statement that it is not negotiable. And by that I mean that you either concede to the Igbo their right to aspire to the office of the president or otherwise, it is to your tent oh Israel.

How sincerely prepared are the Igbo for the challenges of wresting power, given their lack of unity?

you seem to have spoken the minds of most Igbo, but how prepared are the Igbo for this? The seemingly lack of consensus by the Igbo, as people see it, is the fact that the Igbo have an organisation which is trying to arrive at what you just noted, consensus. But we fail to address one issue, our collective political interest. And Nigeria took advantage of it. The North, during the period they were ruling, took advantage of it. During the census, they said that everybody should be counted where he was, knowing that most of the northern areas are populated by the Igbo, as a result of the Igbo penchant to pursue wealth. When it is time for census, they are not allowed to go to their ancestral home to be counted.

We have been singing and asking that for the sake of equity in the country, there must be fair, honest and transparent census and the Igbo should be allowed to be counted in their states of origin. It is there in the Bible. When the Jews were ruled by the Romans and they realised that they were being sectionalised by the Romans, they persuaded Rome to pass a law to enable everybody to return to their ancestral homes to be counted during census. This is what we are asking. As long as they are not allowed to return home and be counted, the South East would always remain a minority region. The whole of the South East and South-South combined cannot contain all the Igbo in Nigeria if they are allowed to go home and be counted.

For 2015, we have set in motion an organisation that embraces all Igbo to take care of the political activities of Ndi Igbo and that also accommodates our cultural heritage and our social behaviour. We have been on this for the past eight years – pursuing Igbo zuru me (Igbos gathered together to accomplish).

How do you mean ‘to your tent oh Israel’ should the Igbo not get the presidency?

I am not the first person to use that clause “to your tenth oh Israel.” As I have said, if in 2015, Jonathan decides to run for the presidency, he can count on our support but if he does not, we would have the slot. And for anybody to say that it is not our turn, we have to be pushed out of Nigeria.

How are you prepared as a socio-cultural organisation to deal with traitors among the Igbo?

We don’t have such people in Igbo land. If we do, we will deal with them the traditional way. And don’t ask me what is the traditional way.

What is your position on whether or not the six-zonal structure should be included in the revamped Constitution to be offered Nigerians?

The constitution we inherited was crafted and skewed against the interest of the Igbo. And our position as Ndi-Igbo is that the current zonal arrangement should really not bother anybody because it has no legal backing in the constitution. operating under the current constitution has given rise to maps being redrawn, boundaries being adjusted and ethnicities being rearranged through illegal activities of the boundary commission. I will repeat again as civilians, we must first suspend this present constitution. There is no need to amend what has been bastardised. That is my stance and that is why I am not prepared to discuss constitution review.